I'm High I’m high I’m getting by I’m gritting my teeth And saying goodbye What the hell is this supposed to be? The moon barks in my ear Both day and noon I’ve adjusted my time To the night I was falling down a well And he would catch me With a charming message of love My living muse What a darling My dead ones sing the blues. More or less a dead rose Did me in yesterday I’ll never touch it again The rum is just as bad Which leaves tequila Or Old No. 7 Bought for my ex on The day that he died There’s a touch of Courvoisier Campari, Vermouth and Chambord There is Triple Sec, of course Prosecco, some white or other And VSOP The Blue Curacao is waiting To ride a wave As am I, if only you’d stay. Though I think I’ll make it till Monday All in all, I’m up on mixology. Elizabeth Cusack, 10/23/21 I Did Not Tell You I did not tell you, but We were sauntering down an alley When a witch bid her mother adieu; She nearly grabbed my neck As I walked by (We are taboo) And said words in Italian I cannot repeat, for I have no idea what she said, But it sounded like a curse, And that I would not repeat. I don’t know if you caught it, It happens to me all the time, Strange women spit at me, For I am leprosy For loving you as I do, Yet they worship Magdalene, Or pretend they do, As a lost cause due a rebate, But Jesus was a rabbi, Which means he was married To the Whore of Babylon, too. 22 October 2021, Elizabeth Cusack Beautiful I am in the drying sun A million songs left unsung I want to dream with you tonight Catch a plane You’ll be alright The city is rife With petty lies And silly fears We drink our glass We do not ask There is no compromise We will not cower Not for an hour We’ll kiss, my love, Then kiss the rest, And we will not glower We’ll get off on the juice We’ll be so high A third dose will make us Want to survive Your cheeks are so kissable Just like Rimbaud’s Your eyes are unmissable Each finger and toe Like a child’s in my hand Precious Angel, When you swung round that door There was no one but you Forevermore They simply do not get Your veneration of men Jesus, I’m beginning to see What the problem is They admire only your funeral pyre They recall the words of the master But none of your own The angels are behind the counter Asking would you like some more The ghosts are coming back Now I must try to sleep I know why they wish to speak I hear the airplanes taking off The casinos are full of cash Waterloo or Rivulets Waterloo or rivulets They are all the same You stumble or you fall That is their game Dry land or gutters The fall is all the same. Standing in the moonlight Walking on the plain Sirens after midnight The bangs and then the pain The doors that do not open The things you can’t explain. The screaming at the party And then the doors are played I love you like the midnight I love you through the pain I cannot find my phone My glass is what remains. The clothes are strewn all over My useless pharmacopeia Is living in the dark I cannot open a door I cannot remain I love you just the same. Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21 Please Wake Up Would you please wake up? But you require dreams I lost those on an acid trip Though it was just a drain Like sniffing pipes And other silly games. I love you like the morning When you smile And play you’re tame You love the wildcat Though she has no name You break her down As she does you We laugh and start again. Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21 The Devils Are All Jealous The devils are all jealous And that’s where we begin We dance under the starlight And like Jesuits we bend Reaching for their iron cross We kick up our heels and then We kick the sand and raise the dead I give you all the praise You made the universe talk. Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21 Not a Lot of Plush There’s not a lot of plush on me So, draw another line I will paint across your face Then follow you in time Lay your cheek upon my thigh It is no capital crime. Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21 The Past Put the past in the past It’s just sounds and words I am old And I am ugly And I am absurd So please just let me go You don’t need me anymore. You stop me in the sand And strip off your pretense The moon is shining brightly And we are both so wasted. For without you There is no song No reason to go on For we are far beyond. I scream to drown out Elvis And his little elves We banish disco and speak our truth And then we travel on. Donovan is in our house With his cosmic crew I love you more than bracelets I love you like the moon Your fragile beauty Your fragile pain They cannot stop this cosmic train. Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21 I Can Tell I can tell if you’re Jesus You can tell if I’m Paul We’ll take the staircase to heaven Rung by rung I have the strength to face Another day I’ll reach for a drink I’m honest I need it to really think. I’ll make it I’m making it I’m ready With Jesus I’ll be complete He wears a serape in winter Where the cowboys and Indians drink He wears his heart And it’s heavy On his long and welcoming arm. His hair it will flow If he lets it His eyes will tell more than I can I’ll love him And he’ll look that way forever Just like a man I feel him here so strongly He’s lying beside me now. Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21 My Telephone If I could find my telephone I’d like to drop you a line I found your wallet in my bag And that’s enough for me. It’s soft and leathery And you entrusted it to me After eight beers at eleven AM And that’s enough for me I call that an act of love. I’m beginning to believe you now Let’s strip off all the pain The moon is crazy bright right now Gram and Jimi are in our house And you are in the frame. Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21 Donovan and Jesus I am lying on the floor And I’m not reaching for my phone How could I? I have your wallet And you My precious angel Are sleeping with my phone Or reaching for the door Although, I am beginning to believe I am yours Forevermore I was born in desert heat In October, after all And you were born in English spring. Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21 Lonely Grifter I’ve always been a lonely grifter Why should any of your evidence differ? The populace it always bows down To its latest circus clown The inquisition, they’re always in town With algorithms that never shut down They deal the cards and laugh Just like your masters Behind your backs. Elizabeth Cusack 11/26/21 Brandy and Cream And it’s brandy with cream From tiny cups Someone brought from Spain I love you like the moon at night Let’s begin again. I will rhyme until I fall or bang my head Like a desperado in the rain But everyone knows I’m falling from the high seats now. Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21 I Can Drink I can drink blindfolded After all, I have paid In blood and tears and orgasms So please, ask me again. It’s Four AM The tequila’s drunk The brandy, well, it’s gone But that’s beside the point My love is never wrong. I love your Belgian chocolate I love your oat latte I love the diamond in your eye And forever I will stay. I love your ginger beer From Australia, you say I do not care for tomato ale No matter what you say. I do not care for that girl Who invited you to play I’ve seen enough, thank you And I’ll be on my way. Do not touch my freedom Do not test my aim I am for the universe But I only play my game. Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21 Not a Thing It means not a thing If I lose you again I am no plush carpet And I am wearing thin. I can call down Jesus And explain it all to Him Please do not mistake me He carried me again. You are everything Though the walls are thin And the bars are closing in I love you, that is all. Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21 Stand Beside You I want to stand beside you And praise your god above But I must pray for Jesus To deliver us from the mob. I love you like the heavens The only love in town I stand with you forever On our solid ground. I will love you till I drown The room I’m in’s possessed As are we all Do you hear the carrion call? Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21 Hit My Head I will not hit my head again Against your concrete wall I will not fade to black again When you can applaud. And for the tile floor I broke I’m sorry for it all I broke my heart, I cannot lie Teaching it to you all. My heart is in the stall I learned that from you all I am going blind But Homer was, you all. So, sleep, my little baby And when you do arise I will love you like the heaven I do not compromise. Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21 Poetry Showcase from Elizabeth Cusack Poetry by Elizabeth Cusack inspired by the Dirty Three Poem by Elizabeth Cusack for Before I Turn Into Gold Day Bio: Elizabeth Cusack is a recovering actress. Ever since playing Rhoda Penmark in “The Bad Seed” as a child, deservedly, she has endeavoured to keep up her end of the bargain. Elizabeth has been blessed with the best of teachers over the years, mostly from the school of hard knocks. She has championed and performed in fringe theatre in America. Elizabeth edits her favourite poet while not otherwise inspired by her muse to write.
Fevers of the Mind 